The ambassadors of the guest service reduced the patient’s traveler rates in EDS

Topline:

The inclusion of the ambassadors of the guest services (GSA) in an emergency department (ED) has reduced the rate of patients leaving without being seen, with higher benefits among patients from blacks, natives and other racial groups that are not white.

METHODOLOGY:

• This study investigated the impact of including GSAs, who fulfill in non -clinical staff roles, in an academic ED in the United States, between April and December 2022.
• The GSAs were trained to guide patients by check-in, to provide updates and to manage expectations around waiting times.
• The GSA program originally worked for 4 hours/day during a 2-month pilot period, later extending to 8.5 hours/day to align with the maximum patient arrival.
• The main result was the absolute change in the percentage of patients who left without being seen before and after the implementation of the GSA program. An analysis of the subgroup evaluated the disappearances in care according to race, ethnicity and sex.
• In general, 9798 patients visited ED during GSA coverage periods.

TAKE AWAY:

• The presence of GSAs was associated with a reduction in the percentage of patients who left without being seen – from 3.4% to 2.0% (absolute risk reduction (ARR), 1.4%; P <.001).
• Patients from black, indigenous racial groups and other racial groups registered a higher reduction in left-wise rates (ARR, 1.8%; 95%, 0.39-3.14%) than white patients (ARR, 1.2%; IC 95%, 0.48-1.94%).
• The women had a higher reduction in the rates seen from the left (ARR, 1.7%) than the men (ARR, 1.0%).

IN PRACTICE:

“Although some disappearances remain, the implementation of the ambassadors of the guest services could have contributed to reducing the disappearances in the rates from the left-being among men and women and reducing the rates from the left-being in general for blacks, indigenous and people of color,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Samuel R. Wing, MD, the Emergency Medicine Department of Berbeewalsh, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Era published online On February 5, 2025, in Emergency academic medicine.

Limitations:

The study had unobservable characteristics of the patient who influences the inclination to leave without being seen and was underestimated to provide conclusive evidence about the differential effects of the patient’s race or ethnicity. The study was conducted in an academic framework with a single site, limiting possible the generalization of findings to other medical assistance settings. In addition, the study has benefited from a consecrated GSA program, which may not be possible in other institutions.

Disclosures:

The authors did not reveal any financing information. The authors did not declare any conflict of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including you, as part of the process. Human publishers examined this content before publishing.